Toys for animals including dogs are well known. These toys take on a variety of shapes and sizes and are often designed for a specific game or exercise. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,083 (Axelrod) describes a throwable pet toy in the shape of a flying disc or saucer that is impregnated with a meat based substance that is attractive to dogs. This patent describes the popular exercise and game of “playing fetch” and relates the belief of many dog trainers and breeders that retrieving is a healthy and beneficial exercise for a pet dog. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,588 (McClung et al.) describes a “throwing plate” game in which a flying disc or similar article includes a recess into which a pet treat or reward is placed. And, U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,846 (Hanna) and 5,078,637 (Mc Farland) both disclose flexible flying discs having a softer tube and fabric construction. All of these pet toys are optimized for various throwing games.
Flying disc or saucer shaped toys for games between humans are, of course, well known. The most famous may be the FRISBEE™ throw toy. Recently, a flexible waterproof embodiment of such a flying disc was described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,214 (Cooper). Flying discs of the traditional more rigid design are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,347 (Yenerich), U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,624 (Dunipace), U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,720 (Stone), U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,155 (Bruntmyer), U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,122 (Gillespie), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,678 (Headrick). However, these toys, being generally constructed on a rigid form of plastic, when used in play with pet dogs may cause damage to the pet's mouth. This is especially so if such toys are used in “tug-o-war” like games with pets. Such a game would commonly involve a playful, yet aggressive, contest be between a person and pet wherein each would grasp an opposite end of the toy and tug or pull thereon. While U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,846 (Hanna) and 5,078,637 (McFarlamd), as discussed above, disclose flying discs constructed of softer materials, they are not suited for aggressive togging games withw animals.
Tugging, and indeed chewing or gnawing, on suitable articles is commonly known to be of benefit to pet animals, especially to pet dogs. Such chewing and gnawing is beneficial to a dog's oral health as it strengthens and exercises the animal's teeth and jaws. The chewing and gnawing action tends to scrape tartar, plaque, and debris from the animal's teeth. To address this need, several pet toys specifically designed for chewing or gnawing by pet dogs have been disclosed. To protect a dog's several of these toys are made of resilient rubber-like materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,610,851 (Jones) describes a pipe shaped dog's toy molded or rubber. In fact, U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,196 (Welch), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,913 (Welch), describes a process for making animal chew toys out of used tire sidewalls. Further pet toy examples include the dog chew toy made in the form of a length of rope impregnated with a therapeutic dental agent of U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,881 (O'Rourke) And U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,254 (O'Rourke); the bone shaped therapeutic device for dogs made from a hard, tough material with protruding spikes of U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,436 (Axelrod); the therapeutic pet toy with an elastomer body and grooves sized for receiving a dog's teeth of U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,444 (Markham, et al.); and the chewable animal toy made from a super-tough molded elastomeric polyurethane material with a surface-migrating flavoring material of U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,219 (Edwards) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,014 (Edwards). However, these chewing and gnawing toys are not generally optimized for throwing games. The need therefore exists for a pet toy that is designed for use as a throw, tug and chew toy.
At the conclusion of or during a session of play with pet, the pet may become thirsty or hungry. If the play session or game is conducted outdoors, it is likely that the pet's master will not have access to a convenient means of contenting the pet with food or water. As play with pet animals is often spontaneous in nature, it would be helpful if the pet toy used in such play could also be used as an effective pet food or water dish. U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,637 (McFarland), mentioned above, contemplates the use of the flexible flying disk that it discloses as a water dish for a thirsty pet. However, the highly flexible, dome shaped, and shallow nature of the convex side of the McFarland flying disk, not being flat or deep, is not stable and not effectively suited for use as a water and food dish.